Personal Trainer Pricing
While I do still work with the occasional ‘one-off’ client, it’s been several years since I’ve promoted my own personal training services by the traditional “hourly” model.
Initially, one of the reasons I switched to more of a ‘monthly membership’ – or ‘program design’ model was because it was just different enough from what every other trainer was offering – and in a market flooded with “experts,” any point of differentiation can’t hurt.
Besides, how much longer can we – as an industry – expect people to pay us to follow them around a gym while we ‘expertly’ count to 10?
In fact, I now go so far as to provide that level of personal counting training for free – it’s what I call the “toy in the cereal box”. I’ve come the realization that the real value isn’t in my ability to count accurately (or lack of that ability, as my clients will surely agree!) – but in designing and supporting “big picture” programs and processes that get ‘em from where they are now to where they want to be in the next month – or 2 – or 3.
To explain my coaching process very simply: I can be the GPS, but you will always be the one who needs to step on the gas and turn the wheel. If obstacles come up (and they always do), I can often recalculate the route so you’ll end up in the same place, but you STILL need to do the driving.
WHEN DO “HOURLY RATES” MAKE SENSE?
If you’re a mechanic, charging by the hour can work (though I’d suggest garage owners would be wise to consider offering a monthly/annual maintenance & repair membership program, too, but I digress…)
The auto repair industry has standardized labor guides in which one can determine just how long it should take to replace an alternator on a 2011 BMW or the flux capacitor in a 1981 Delorean DMC-12. The car doesn’t get to choose why, when, how or where the repair gets done – or if it gets done at all – but the fact that there are standard expectations makes it easy (and perhaps even logical) to sell such services by the hour. As long as the annoying ‘service engine’ light is off when you collect your vehicle, all’s-well-that-ends-well.
The problem with selling personal training by the hour is that individual goals, experience, level of commitment and a plethora of other variables can be completely different from one trainee to the next. A single strategy might take one client/member a brief chat to understand, accept and implement. The same strategy might take another months – if it’s even an appropriate strategy! There are no standard guides to follow that allow us to provide a meaningful ‘hourly’ rate. Can a person lose 10 pounds in a month? Sure. Can you lose 10 pounds in 6 months? Absolutely.
While your car doesn’t have any say-so in its repairs, YOU ultimately have to make every decision from the time you decide to hire a trainer – or buy a book/video – or choose to do-it-yourself… or stay as you are and do nothing at all. YOU have to decide the best way to acquire the goal-supportive foods/supplements that’ll move you closer to your fitness goals. YOU have to consume, digest and eliminate the waste of said food. YOU have to get enough sleep. YOU have to control the rise and fall of your own iron. With so much dependent on what YOU do, do you really want ME or any other trainer to charge for personal training “by the hour”???
I (and all of my fit-biz brothers and sisters) can only teach, persuade, educate and direct. Unless (and until) you make the decision to systematically put your nose to the grindstone, shopping for “personal-training-by-the-hour” can only be a short term band-aid that may make you feel good… but what is the VALUE in that?
- Okay, so maybe KITT can pick which garage it goes to for repairs…
Grand Rapids Personal Trainer TV Show
Ok, so this post should probably be titled “Calvin College TV Show” – but since one of their media production classes (CAS250) asked me to help ‘em with a li’l project this semester, and I was the host of the fitness-themed show – I s’pose it’s just as fair to call it the Grand Rapids Personal Trainer show, too. ;-)
Anyway, over the past couple of months, I developed content for SEVENTEEN 10-minute episodes of a show titled “Beltline Construction” – a double-entendre those familiar with Grand Rapids geography will no doubt understand.
More to the point, below is a brief teaser/highlight reel from the project. I’ll be posting individual episodes at my GRPT site soon and will post some additional “fan page” exclusive content HERE. (“Like” it so you don’t miss a beat)
Have a happy festivus and a “mighty” 2012!
Now on with the show…
[Oh... and a HUGE thanks to my hard-rockin' musician buddy Mark E. Johnson from Pennsville, NJ for allowing us to use the 'training tune' in the show!)
Grrrrrr…. A Rant About Multi-Level Marketing “Opportunities”
This one’s especially for my fellow fitness/health industry pros…
In your work with weight loss and/or sports performance clients, I assume you’re already giving ‘em some variation of the standard recommendation to “eat right.” I also assume you’re even helping them understand what that seemingly simple advice actually means. You may even be recommending a few supplements to help make “eating right” a little easier (perhaps through an affiliate program?)
I’m even going to go out on a limb and assume your clients are at least as smart as mine and realize that our body’s preferred source of nutrients is actual FOOD – and NOT shakes, powders, pills or potions.
Just last week, one of my trusted colleagues pointed me in the direction of a meal delivery service that is NOT loaded with cheap fillers (read: pasta/rice/flour.) It’s also NOT a mass-market “T.V. dinner” (such as the latest crop of ‘jenny craigs’ and ‘weight watchers’ knockoffs.) The menu options consist primarily of proteins and veggies. The same things I suggest my own clients base their own “diets” on.
My first instinct whenever someone tells me about any program that “sounds too good to be true” is that it must be another Multi-Level Marketing program (argggh!)
Even though I’ve been living in the middle of MLM-central for the last 3 years now (Amway started in a neighboring suburb of Grand Rapids, MI) – I don’t care if you’re selling solid gold bars straight from Fort Knox – if it’s being sold via an MLM business model, there MUST be something wrong with it. There have been too many less-than-legit “opportunities” over the years, that it has long been my hard-and-fast policy to completely turn my attention away at the first signs of a “ponzi scheme” no matter how much better the product is than sliced bread.
“But I’ve got the cure for cancer!“ MLM? fuggeddaboudit.
“What if I give you a free sample of this magic fat loss dust?” Not interested. In fact, why don’t you hang up on yourself before I do?
There’s just something about the MLM model that doesn’t sit well with me – and I suspect it’s the same thing many of my clients have alluded to when discussing such “solutions” over the years. Now I’ll try to articulate what I *think* many of us have been feeling…
While I’m certainly not against the idea of profit, it seems that most (if not ALL) MLM-ers put their personal want for money above any sense that they should ALSO be delivering a product/service.
Let me restate this: I’m all for making as much moo-lah as you personally care to, but not at the expense of ‘selling out’ the same trust you work so hard to build as a PROFESSIONAL in your field. The difference between “greed” and “good business” is motive. Because the “downline” is usually positioned as “the key to great riches,” MLM-ers motive always seems a little to self-serving to me.
That said, there are several excellent “single-tier” affiliate programs I whole-heartedly buy in to. It should go without saying (but I’ll say it anyway, in case there was any doubt), the products also have to be of top-quality for me to even consider putting my MIGHTY JOE ‘seal of approval’ on ‘em. I don’t expect any of ‘em to help me “get rich quick.” Instead, I view them as resources that may help a certain number of my clients, prospects, readers, neighbors, friends or family. Any commissions I happen to make because I promote them is a bonus. Some months, this might be as little as a couple hundred bucks while other months reach into the thousands. My CORE business is fitness program design and coaching. When I find existing resources that support or compliment my the coaching principles I use – and they don’t have that “taboo” label of MLM on ‘em – I think it would be awfully silly if I didn’t at least look into promoting it even if it means I might actually profit (gasp!) from it, too.
So getting to the point, the aforementioned meal delivery service that appears to be an EXCELLENT match with the nutrition principles I teach (and I assume you do, too, in whole or in part) has a single-tier affiliate program. You can check it out at Personal Trainer Food.
I certainly don’t have all the answers about the program, but I did sit in on one of their daily webinars (along with another well known fit-biz pro – and I think it’s fair to say that he’s AT LEAST as skeptical as I am about these things) – and all I can say is that if you don’t at least do a little research into this unique service (did I mention it’s free to join?), you may be doing your customers a huge dis-service by giving ‘em good advice (‘eat right’) but no practical solution to make it work.
More From The West Michigan Bodybuilding Scene…
My friend Shawn Miller has a gym…make that THE gym in Holland, Michigan. FLEX Fitness Center is known locally as the place to work out when you’re serious about change. A couple of his gym members put their efforts on display at the 2009 NPC Western Michigan Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure & Bikini Championships this past weekend – and I was there capturing video of their evening posing routines…
Dave Kaletka
Greg Castro
…and of course, I somehow happened to record some random bikini competitors (none from FLEX that I’m aware of, but I told you yesterday some bikini comp footage was on its way):
BTW, I’ve been working on a couple ‘top secret’ projects with Shawn/FLEX – the kinds of things that are only being announced through the gym and on their Facebook Fan Page. If you want to find out what we have up our heavily muscles sleeves, you need to become a “fan”.
This Blog Post Doesn’t Suck
Thought ya’ll get a kick outta this li’l video I put together yesterday for one of my ongoing projects…
"Mighty" Joe Stankowski
